Kataang Week II
by Galaxi
Summary: Just a few stories to symbolize my love of Kataang, and to symbolize Aang and Katara's love for each other. Yay for Kataang Week II! UPDATE: This story has been discontinued. Sorry.
1. Panda Lily

**Because I didn't participate in the last Kataang Week, I'm trying my hardest to participate in this one. Presenting: Kataang Week II! And I know what you're thinking: 'What? Kataang Week II is almost over!' Yeah, I'm well aware of that. But I only found out about this whole dealio today, so don't throw your flaming fire balls at me. Man, I feel so out-of-place when it comes to the Kataang world. My apologies. –ducks as you throw a flaming fire ball-**

**I honestly hope I'm not too late . . .**

**Anyways, on to the first prompt!**

_Panda Lily_

---

"GAH! Toph! Do you _really_ have to do that?" Aang yelped as he dodged another massive boulder hurled in his direction. He was currently in the middle of his daily training with the earthbender, and things were going worse than usual. "You're _training_ me, not trying to _kill_ me!"

"How can you be so sure?" Toph replied jokingly from a few yards away. Nevertheless, she discontinued throwing rocks in Aang's direction. He wiped the dust from his pant legs and shook a few pebbles out of his dark-brown hair—which was growing longer by the day. "Besides, it's not my fault you're nervous out of your mind and can't train well anyways."

Aang stomped his foot down in defiance, and could feel the blood rising to his cheeks. "Nervous? Are you kidding? Why would I be nervous about anything, besides the fact I nearly get mauled by you every day? Today's no different than any other day."

Toph grinned wide. She loved to tease Aang, especially when he made it so easy. "_Sure_ it is, Twinkletoes . . . the only thing that's different today is you're going on a date with your girlfriend in a few hours, and of course _that_ wouldn't make you nervous at _all_ . . ." she hinted sarcastically.

This, of course, only made Aang's cheeks redder. "I am _not_ nervous about our date. I've gone on plenty dates with Katara before."

"You should probably stop wasting your breath lying to me, Air Boy, and tell me what has you so jittery in the first place." Toph said smugly. "If this date is no different than any other date, then why are you so apprehensive?"

Aang sat down on a nearby rock in defeat. "Well . . . it's our one and a half month anniversary," he implied, "of being a couple, I mean. And I _still_ don't have a special gift to give to Katara! I don't even know what I should get . . ."

Toph rolled her eyes as she sat down next to him. "Leave it to you and Sugar Queen to celebrate a one and a half month anniversary," she said, lightly punching him in the arm—which happened to be _not _so light. "Just get her what regular girls would want. Some chocolates, or a bunch of flowers, or—"

"That's it!" Aang interrupted, jumping to his feet and heading in the direction of the Fire Nation town.

"What—some flowers? Well, _that_ was pretty easy . . ." she murmured to herself disbelievingly.

"Not just any flower," Aang replied, sounding distracted. "The best flower of all."

"Get the girl whatever kind of flower you feel like; it's not like I care. But this doesn't excuse the fact we're not done with training . . ."

"Of course not. Oh, by the way," he said, looking innocently in Toph's direction before continuing to walk, "Katara is _not_ a regular girl."

_---_

"A panda lily? I'm sorry . . . I'm afraid those don't grow in this part of the Fire Nation."

"Are you sure? You have to be sure, please! It's for someone _really_ important."

"I bet it is, young man. But yes, I'm sure; panda lilies do not grow around here." The shopkeeper shook his head apologetically. "There are quite a few other exotic flowers I can sell to you, though! And for a cheap price!" He motioned to the shelves behind him, which were full of many different kinds of flowers, and his expression brightened immediately. "If you look in this direction, you'll see—"

"No, thank you," Aang interrupted quietly. "There's only one flower I want." He bowed numbly to the shop keeper, and continued his way towards his destination.

---

Aang took a deep breath before he entered the restaurant. He made sure his headband was fastened tightly over his arrow, and walked in with a heavy heart.

How was he going to explain his absence of a gift?

He spotted Katara at their usual table, and he couldn't help but brighten up considerably. _No need to make everything worse_, he told himself.

"Aang!" Katara jumped up from the chair she was sitting in, and all but nearly toppled him over as she hug-tackled him tightly. "Happy one and a half month anniversary," she giggled quietly before giving him a light kiss on the cheek.

Aang blushed as he replied softly, "You too."

They took their seats next to each other, hands held tightly, and Katara scooted over a few inches so that they were literally shoulder to shoulder; just as she always did on their dates to this particular restaurant. Aang was currently mulling over a good argument in his head of why he didn't get a gift for her, though arguing with Katara was the very last thing he wanted to do tonight, of all nights. He was so caught up in his thoughts; he didn't notice Katara was being unusually quiet as well. He sighed, and began speaking.

"Katara . . . I kind of have a confession to make."

"Wait, Aang! Before you say anything, I need to tell you something also." Her eyes lowered, and her voice was ashamed. "Well . . . you see, I kind of got you—" She held out her hand quickly, and much to Aang's surprise, a beautiful panda lily was held between her fingers. "—this."

"K-Katara! That's wonderful!" He embraced her warmly, and was surprised when she didn't hug him back. "What's the matter?" he asked, holding her at arm's length in front of him.

"You have no idea what I had to do to get this stupid flower," she replied quietly, and suddenly became very interested with the silverware on the table as she avoided Aang's gaze.

"What do you mean? What did you have to do?"

Katara sighed heavily. "Aang . . . I got it . . . illegally . . ."

Aang's eyes widened. "What do you mean? How is that even _possible?_"

"Aang, I'm so sorry!" she said suddenly, looking straight into his eyes. "But you have to understand I did it for you, I didn't mean to break any ru—"

Katara was interrupted as Aang leaned in, placing a kiss on her lips. He kept his lips in place until he was sure Katara was content with kissing him back. When he pulled back, her expression was one of pure confusion, and her cheeks turned a lovely color of crimson.

"W-Why would y-you . . . do that? After what I did?" she stuttered, not managing to compose her face.

"Isn't it obvious?" Aang laughed. "I love you, and I know you love me back because you got me this flower, and illegally, of all things!" His voice lowered as he said the last few words—he didn't want any attention from the other citizens in the restaurant.

"How is that a _good _thing?" she stressed.

"I guess you could say it's a bit ironic . . . because I was trying to get this exact flower for _you_, Katara," he explained merrily. "And I'm calling myself a bit stupid for not thinking of acquiring it illegally before!" Aang smacked his forehead to animate his point. "I didn't get you a gift, Katara," he continued, "because the only thing I wanted to get you was this flower. I gave up after the shopkeeper said they weren't found in this part of the Fire Nation."

"That shopkeeper was right," Katara muttered pointedly.

"I know," he sighed. "But if I really would've cared, I would have thought of stealing it as a second resort . . ."

"Knowing your state of mind is a good enough gift to me," she said gently. "But it's just a stupid flower."

"A stupid flower that symbolizes love and unity," Aang pointed out.

"I second that opinion," Katara agreed as she leaned in for another kiss.

"Happy one and a half month anniversary."

---

**A/N: Okay, I'm usually not one to boast, but I thought that ending was pretty dang cute. Maybe not one of my best works, but I like it anyways! I hope you do too. Please review, and expect 6 more fics up here by the end of this week . . . ah, the headaches.**


	2. Blush

**Okay, onto the second prompt of Kataang Week II. It's surprisingly enjoyable to write these. I'm not saying it wasn't enjoyable before, but writing so many in a row? That's v**_**ery**_** satisfying.**

**Um . . . Toph comes as a very interesting side character to use in these Kataang fics, just to let you know. **

**I do not own Avatar, but the people who do own it are not worthy enough in my opinion.**

**Prompt number two.**

_Blush_

---

It was so easy to make him blush. Much too easy.

And Katara took pleasure from it. Such guilty pleasure. Whenever there was a time in which she was feeling down or forlorn, she only sought out that small patch of redness below his eyes . . . basically, her whole day was made from there. No words of comfort were needed, not even a show of affection—though that redness was enough affection in itself.

You can just guess how she felt when the blush didn't come.

"Honestly, Aang, I don't have to have eyes to see you're more down than usual," Toph griped. "What happened to your usual, annoying and bouncy self today?"

"Huh. Wow, Toph, I didn't realize you missed my being annoying," Aang spat—almost literally.

"Hey, don't get all defensive with me, Twinkletoes." She put her arms behind her head as she leaned back down on the dirt. "_I_ didn't realize there was a problem with asking questions around here." Toph innocently began to pick at her toes, which earned a disgusted look from Katara.

"Well, _you_ can just mind your business!" Aang yelled, waving his arms hysterically.

"Hah, I take back what I said about you not being annoying . . ."

"Aang, I'm going to have to agree with Toph," Katara murmured from where she stirred a pot of soup with her waterbending. "Is it something you want to talk about?"

Aang said nothing, but turned his back towards both girls, and slumped to the ground.

Now Katara was _really_ worried. She abandoned her place by the soup to walk over to where Aang sat. Putting her arm around his shoulder comfortingly, she began speaking. "I'll take that as a 'yes.'"

Toph rudely cleared her throat from where she lay a few feet away. "While you two _cuddle_, I'm gonna go see what's taking Snoozles so long with that meat . . ." And with that, she headed into the nearby small enclosure of trees. This, of course, left Katara and Aang alone to vent to each other.

She expected some kind of blush to come from him at that moment, what with the 'cuddle' comment from Toph, but his face stayed straight. His eyebrows were narrowed, his fists were clenched over his tendons, and his mouth was tight. Katara studied him for several moments, wondering if he would begin to speak. Of course he didn't.

"Aang, please tell me what has you acting this way . . . I'm worried about you."

"You shouldn't be," he replied in a surprisingly soft voice, turning his head away from Katara.

"Well, I am. And until you act normally, or at least tell me _why_ you're acting this way . . . I'm going to continue to be worried and anxious for you." Aang sighed heavily as he buried his face in his hands. Katara gave his shoulder a gentle and encouraging squeeze. "It doesn't have to do with that barbaric man, does it? Back in the town . . ."

No answer.

Now it was Katara's turn to sigh. "Aang, you shouldn't worry about people like him. You know you're doing the right thing, and so does everyone else."

"Oh, _really_?" Aang said angrily, escaping from Katara's embrace and jumping to his feet. Katara let him go, slightly hurt. "And exactly how many people is '_everyone_'? Maybe a few hundred? Only the people that believed the Avatar would come back in the first place? Think about it, Katara. That's not that many people at all. There are plenty of other people like that man, people who don't believe the Avatar will save them . . . Just as they should."

"A-Aang. Don't say that. Every day, you give people h—"

"Give people what, _hope_? Are you kidding? Every day, people _lose_ hope, Katara. Every single day the Avatar doesn't show his appearance, every day they don't hear his words of comfort . . . more people give up. Give up on _me_." He slouched down again, several feet from Katara, as though suddenly weak by the meaning of his words. "I'm letting the whole world down. And I'm losing this war."

Katara frowned, not being able to stop tears from forming. "No, Aang, you listen to _me_. You are not letting anyone down, okay? You're trying your best, you're doing great with mastering the elements, and it's not too close to Sozin's Comet yet." He didn't reply, and suddenly became interested with a particular rock on the ground. "Everyone knows the Avatar has returned. People like that . . . _rude_ man, will only come by your path every once in a while. You can't give up just because of a few hurtful words from an idiot who doesn't know what he's talking about. Besides, he didn't _know_ you were the Avatar, and he's from the Fire Nation . . . why should you waste your time with him?"

Aang turned his head slightly in her direction, sighing. "I . . . I guess you're right. Ha," he laughed suddenly, "he _was_ kind of an idiot, wasn't he?"

Katara smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Yes. Yes, he was. Now, come here," she welcomed him warmly as she held her arms out. "You need a hug."

Aang brightened up as well, fully facing her. "Thank you, Katara." He leaned into her embrace.

They stayed that way for quite a while, neither one uncomfortable. Aang pulled away slightly to get a better look at her face. "Um, Katara?" he asked, the blood slowly rising to his cheeks.

Katara's smile grew wider, if that was even possible. "Yes, Aang?"

"I just want to let you know . . . that _you_ give me hope." He leaned the few inches that separated them, kissing her gently on the cheek.

Of course, now it was _her_ turn to blush. "I'm glad," she replied softly.

---

**A/N: Aw . . . I thought that was sweet. In case you're wondering, Aang's line "I'm letting the whole world down. And I'm losing this war," is indeed from The Awakening. It was just such a fitting line at that moment . . . I had to use it.**

**But no, I do not own Avatar. –sigh- Please review . . . **


	3. Strength and Weaknesses

**I realize I'm quite behind with this Kataang Week, but I am going to complete seven stories nonetheless . . . whether they're behind a few days or not. –sigh- I'm promising myself, if there is ever a Kataang Week III, I swear to God I'll have the seven prompts done and written **_**before**_** the end of the week. Ha-ha. As if.**

**From Aang's point of view!**

**Anyways, you've probably already guessed this by now, but I do not own Avatar.**

**Third KWII prompt:**

_Strength/Weaknesses_

---

Things were going unusually well for our little gang, especially considering we were temporarily residing in the _Fire Nation_.

It had taken us less than a day to find some fitting Fire Nation clothing. We all looked like any other small group of Fire Nation children—not seeing there actually _were_ any, but that's beside the point entirely. (Of course, I didn't mention how beautiful I thought Katara looked in her outfit, as she does in any type of clothing; but that's beside the point as well.)

The news had already spread to this part of the Fire Nation that the Avatar had been slain. A festival had even been thrown for several days, celebrating my death. It depressed me quite a bit to know that people took joy in the idea of the Avatar being dead.

Although it was hard for me to swallow, the assumption of me not being alive to save them was a good thing, in this case. It was best the Fire Nation have no clue where I actually was: right underneath their noses.

It was quite terrifying being in that position, I must admit. No matter if we had disguises or not, any random person could yank my headband from my arrow at any given moment, reveal my true identity, and be on their merry way. I've no clue why anyone would do that in the first place, seeing how unspeakably rude that'd be, and how no one—at least not that I knew of—had the slightest hint of my existence. I couldn't help but be paranoid, anyway.

Hiding in caves wasn't much of a problem, either. It definitely was not preferred by anyone in our group, but we'd been in much more . . . _difficult_ surroundings before, so we could live with it—for now.

So, as I mentioned before, things were going surprisingly well. Better than they had for a long time. We rarely ran into trouble, and I was mastering Water and Earth a bit more every day. Although finding a _Fire_bending teacher was proving to be terribly difficult . . .

Don't get me wrong—nothing had ever been perfect before. Lately, though, I'd begun to miss a good challenge every once in a while. The boredom was unbearable, and I wished for a bit of excitement.

A sudden turn of events helped me to truly understand—not to mention _experience_—the saying, _be careful what you wish for_.

And that turn of events was just the start of a whole new life.

---

It was late afternoon. The sun beat down heavily, enough to make sweat drip down the back of my neck. Katara was currently in an argument with Sokka, and me and Toph were sitting back, relaxing, and enjoying the show.

"No, honestly! The buttons on this tunic are coming loose—we need to make a trip to town in search of a tailor to sew them up!" Sokka continued to complain about the condition of his Fire Nation top, indicating sewing motions with his hands. Quite exaggeratingly, as well.

"You're _sure_ you're not just saying that as an excuse to go buy some food while we're in the market?" Katara pressed, raising her eyebrows.

Sokka threw his arms in the air. "For the last time, yes! I'm sure!" He then laid his hand on his chin wisely while I watched, amused. "Although we _are_ running low on meat, and a food stop wouldn't be such a bad idea . . ." he added, guilty.

Katara rolled her eyes.

Gathering up several gold pieces, Sokka, Katara, Toph and I headed towards the marketplace while Appa and Momo stayed behind to conceal themselves.

No sooner had we walked five steps into town than Sokka began bouncing up and down impatiently, an antique from a merchant's stand catching his eye. Katara sighed, exasperated.

"Go get whatever it is that has you acting so silly. Toph will come with you."

Toph willingly stepped a few feet closer to Sokka.

"Aang and I will finish up with the rest of the shopping. Uh, uh, uh!" she scolded suddenly, before Sokka had the chance to skip away. "We can't buy anything without money." She held her hand out expectantly, encouraging Sokka to drop some kind of currency into her waiting palm. When he did, she gasped.

"Sokka! It was _not_ necessary for you to bring _this_ much!" Katara glared, waiting for some kind of explanation.

"Well, what if I wanted something really nice, but couldn't afford it with the money we had on hand? It's less convenient to make a trip all the way back to the cave to get the required gold pieces to buy said thing." He rolled his eyes as though this logic were the most obvious thing in the world. In my opinion, it was, but I kept quiet.

Okay, not completely quiet.

"Makes sense to me," I contributed innocently.

Katara frowned deeper, then nodded once. "Alright. But do _not_ spend all of it, do you hear me?" I couldn't help but think if I hadn't said anything, she wouldn't have let the matter go.

"Hey, don't worry," Sokka replied, slowly drifting away. "That set of fine china can't be worth _that_ much . . ."

"Yeah, don't worry, Sugar Queen," Toph addressed Katara, which made Katara bristle. "I'll make sure Sokka the idiot doesn't spend all your precious gold pieces." She tagged along behind him, muttering something unintelligible.

"Alright then, Aang," Katara said, smiling and turning towards me. My heart skipped a beat. "Let's get this shopping done, then. And let's definitely make sure Sokka has enough meat to stuff his face in." She glanced my way, nodding.

I chuckled, lightly elbowing her.

Goodness, she could make my whole day brighter under any circumstances.

Walking through the town, I noticed several things I hadn't noticed before. First, there were many beggars on the sides of the streets. They waved tin cups and ran up to random strangers like they were their saviors. Second, it was quite obvious the town was being ruled by up-to-no-good gangs. They harassed innocent shoppers; basically anyone that walked by, even the beggars themselves. They stole newly bought goods from women out doing errands, and threatened anyone who didn't give them money when asked for. The fact that they did all these horrible things was not the worst part, though.

The worst part was that everyone gave in to them without question.

I noticed the sad look on Katara's face as she took in these terrible things as well, and instinct took over as I tried to distract her from our surroundings.

"Uh, Katara? What do you say you and me make a big dinner for us all when we get back to camp?" I took more pleasure from the words _you and me_ than absolutely necessary.

Katara looked at me, and I was surprised to see an enormous blush on her face. "Sure!" she replied a bit too quickly, and I smiled. "I mean, if you want to. Well, of course you want to . . . otherwise you wouldn't have suggested it. Right? And I doubt you'd want me to say no. But that's not the reason I said yes, of course. I actually _do_ want to. I don't know why I _wouldn't _want to I don't really have a reason for that . . . but if you don't want to, then that's okay with me. I wouldn't want to either, if you didn't want to, maybe. But why would you suggest it if you didn't want to? Um . . . I'm getting carried away, aren't I?"

Naturally, I gave her a hug, laughing. "Maybe. But that's why I love you."

_Oh . . . oh, please tell me I didn't just say that out loud . . ._

"Um . . ." I muttered awkwardly, releasing her. I was startled as I noticed her hands began shaking, and the blush on her cheeks got a bit more extreme. "Well, not in _that _way . . . just like friends, y'know? Uh. Yeah."

Katara grabbed my hands in her own, and a sudden calm settled over as her hands stopped shaking. It was as though my touch was enough to soothe her completely. I dwelled on that thought.

"No, don't w-worry about it, Aang . . . I know . . . what you m-mean." Her face fell, for a reason that could only be possible in my dreams. She let go of one of my hands; the other she kept to her side. I didn't resist. Of course I'd always dreamed about holding her hands . . . it surprised me greatly that she was the one who initiated this simple act in the first place.

I didn't notice until just then that I was really starting to burn up. I was sweaty, everywhere. It was unnatural. Katara seemed to notice as well from the temperature of my hand, for she threw a worried glance my way.

Several minutes passed as we walked through the town, hand in hand, and the feverish feeling didn't go down.

"Aang? Are you okay? You look really jittery . . ." I did? "You like you're coming down with a fever."

Laying her free hand on my forehead, she said, "Oh, you're _definitely _burning up. Your forehead's as hot as the temperature conditions here in the Fire Nation . . . what brought this on? Are you allergic to something?"

I laughed dryly, bringing her hand from my head. "The Avatar? _Allergic_ to something? Katara, that's the funniest thing I've heard all day."

She frowned, folding her arms. "I'm only trying to help. Besides," she whispered, "you shouldn't mention so loudly here that you're the Avatar."

"Hah," I laughed again, though there was nothing funny to laugh about. "That guy's dead, right?"

What?!

Alarmed, Katara grabbed my arms, putting her face close to mine. My vision was starting to get blurry for no noticeable reason. I was getting dizzy as her breath intoxicated me. I was surely going to throw up if she didn't back up soon. "Aang, what's the matter with you? Fevers shouldn't cause confusion . . . are you okay? How many fingers am I holding up?" Quickly, she held a few digits in front of my face.

I counted.

One. Two. Water. Four. Seven. Air. Eleven. Nine. Katara. Katara. _Katara_ . . .

"Um . . . Katara?" I asked, getting more nauseous by the second. No, it couldn't just be because of _her_, could it? It was like she was my weakness. Literally. I wasn't used to her showing such affection to me. It wasn't often we had the chance to talk alone to each other, and it definitely wasn't every day I accidentally told her I _loved _her . . .

"Yes, Aang?" she replied anxiously, putting her fingers down.

My legs were shaking. Getting weaker just by her very presence, so very close to me . . .

"Oh . . . Katara . . ." I groaned as I felt myself being pulled down to the earth.

And that was all I remembered before everything blacked out.

---

The taste of vomit was in my mouth when I sensed consciousness again. Two voices were speaking not too far from my head. I could feel the pressure of ground on the back of my body.

"A'ight, jus' give the feller summa dat juice, an' 'ell be back ta ther real world, no problum." The man who spoke had a very drunken slur.

"Okay. Thank you so much for all your help." Ah. Katara's voice. The voice of an angel.

I sensed that the man who spoke first had now left, for Katara now spoke to me, and me only.

"Aang . . . drink up some of this . . . it should help you with your fever . . ." I felt a hot liquid sliding against my lips and down my throat as Katara lifted some kind of cup up to my mouth. It tasted like . . . tea? Yes, it was definitely tea. Not _juice_, like the man had said. It washed out the sickening taste in my mouth, and left the taste of spices and leaves . . . I couldn't quite identify what kind of tea of was, for my head was not that clear yet and neither were my senses. I felt Katara's hand behind my neck, and I was certain it was that realization that brought me out of my small coma rather than the liquid herb that was meant to.

"Ugh . . . Katara?" I mumbled. My voice sounded sleepy and I couldn't force it to be louder or more intelligible. Slowly, I opened my eyes, just in time to see Katara leaning down close to my face. That certainly didn't help with any train of thought I might've had.

"Aang! Thank goodness you're awake," she rejoiced, putting her arms around my neck and bringing me up to her chest. "How do you feel?" That was a good question. I wasn't quite sure how I felt, besides a mixed feeling of immense pleasure and nervousness from being so close to her.

"Uh . . . just fine," I lied; my stomach still felt queasy.

She helped me stand up, and I realized for the first time we were indoors; maybe some kind of store. From the looks of the contents on the shelves, it looked like a pharmacy. Was my condition really that serious? Well, I felt better now, at least better compared to how I felt before I passed out.

_Oh, spirits_, I realized. _That's kind of embarrassing_.

"Um, thanks," I told her, feeling a sudden heat rise to my face. I knew I was blushing, and that didn't make anything better. "I-well, I'm sorry . . . that you had to worry about me and—"

I was interrupted when she put the cup of hot liquid back up to my lips. I was too weak to resist. "Shush," she ordered. "Finish drinking this, then we'll discuss it." A sly but very noticeable smile crept onto her face; heaven knows why.

I obeyed without further argument, though. I shivered as I allowed the tea to trickle down my throat. It soothed me, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the slightly minty taste.

When I'd finished, I set the cup on the side of me, wiped my mouth, and then positioned my legs into a lotus position. To my surprise, Katara was intensely studying me, knees bent upright and hands clamped around them; and she'd seemingly been doing so all the while I'd been drinking.

"Um . . . why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on me?" I wiped my face with the collar of my Fire Nation outfit quickly, but Katara's hand caught mine before I could finish. I slowly looked into her eyes with a questioning look, feeling the blood rise to my cheeks again. Why is it I could never keep a straight face when she was around? It was like she automatically cast a spell on me every time she touched me.

"No," Katara giggled, "there's nothing on you. I was staring at you because . . . well, I've thought over and decided on a few important things."

"What kind of things?"

"Um, well . . . first off, how do you feel about me? Be very truthful, don't leave out one single detail, Aang. Please." The look of desperation was on her face as she said these words.

"Be truthful?" I fretted. "Uh, yeah, sure. Why not?" I cleared my throat a few times, wondering how in the world I was going to explain exactly how I felt about her. The truth was, I _loved_ her. And she was wanting to know if that was actually the case. She could be finally catching on, after almost a year. She might actually know how I felt about her. But how? I'd kept my mouth shut about it ever since we'd met. Was she assuming the reason I had a sudden illness was because of _her_? I'd begun to think the same thing, and it was now seeming to be confirmed.

_This is it_, I told myself. _Whether she feels the same way or not, now's the time she's going to find out_.

"K-Katara," My voice cracked; another reason to clear my throat. She raised her eyebrows, and I knew I'd overdone the whole clearing of the throat thing. "Katara," I began again, my voice much stronger and confident this time. _You can do this, Aang._ _She might actually feel the same way about you. _"Well—you're my best friend in the whole world, of course you know . . . and, um, I've developed a strong bond with you over the past several months. It's a feeling I've never felt for anyone but you . . ." Katara began to nod quickly, looking down at her feet. She blinked very quickly and sighed. "Katara—are you okay?" I asked, immediately worried.

Before I had the chance to think about what was happening, Katara leaned her entire body forward, caught my collar with both of her hands—roughly pulling me forward—and kissed me full on the mouth.

_Her_ lips, on _my_ mouth. I was _actually_ kissing her—that is, after I got over the shock. _She_ was actually kissing _me_. Something I'd dreamed of doing every since I'd met her. It was actually happening. Then, I could only come to one conclusion:

Katara liked me how I liked her. And _boy_, was that a whole ton.

I felt the sensation of dizziness come over me again as she broke away, her breath choppy on my face as she tried to catch her breath. I struggled to regain composure and think of what had just happened. She then answered my earlier question. "I'm perfectly okay, Aang. At least, now I am," she panted, her breath short. Her eyes closed slowly, a blush perfectly visible on her beautiful face. "But I need to know just _one_ thing, Aang, and you'd better tell me the truth."

"Anything," I whispered. My body seemed to be frozen. I couldn't risk ruining the moment by moving even an inch.

"Do you love me? Do you _really_ love me, like how I love you?"

That certainly was to be expected, and I wasted no time in answering. I'd let her wait for far too long.

"Yes," I breathed. "I do love you—I have for quite a long time now."

Katara nodded, opening her eyes—oh, her beautifully blue eyes—and smiled slightly. "That's good," she sighed. Further conversation was not necessary. The truth was told.

Then, the only thing my senses seemed to notice was her lips on mine again.

---

We exited the shop, hand in hand. The feeling of her so close to me no longer made me feel ill—though I have no idea why it did in the first place—but happy, more happy than I'd ever been in my young life. Then I realized why I'd felt sick before. She literally was my weakness. I wasn't used to her being so close to me. Now that she was, though, I could handle it easily. It was similar to how I reacted when I caught a cold or fever, like I just did; it came once, maybe a few times, but after a while, I became physically strong enough to fight it off easier the next time illness threatened to claim me. But with Katara, it was all about the mentality of the situation. The _feeling_ of sickness was all in my head, run by a _feeling_ of love that just needed some getting used to. That definitely could be a bit easier now that we were on equal grounds—when it came to emotions, that is—and now that it was so, she was more than likely to make me stronger.

We caught up with Sokka and Toph just on the outskirts of the town; apparently, they hadn't waited for us for more than two minutes. If either one of them noticed the physical contact between me and Katara, they didn't mention anything of it. Sokka seemed too depressed by the fact that he didn't have enough money to buy what he had wanted to, and didn't do anything but give a vague mumble in acknowledgement as we started our way back to the cave. We'd gotten less than half of the shopping done that'd we'd meant to, but I only numbly realized that as I felt Katara's hand in mine, savoring her touch. I was grateful for the first time in my life that I'd become suddenly weak in her presence.

Approaching our makeshift home, Sokka gripped the line of buttons on his tunic and yelled out in sudden realization and disdain:

"Argh! These darned loose buttons _still_ need sewing up!"

---

**N/A: Okay, that's probably the most poorly written Kataang one-shot in the history of fanfictions, but it's gonna have to do.**

**Who else thought the plot was strange? –raises hand- Oh, and I apologize that it took so long to finish. It's the longest one-shot I've ever written.**

**Please review and tell me what you thought . . . just so I'll be motivated to finishing up 4 more stories.**


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